Well, day 3 has come and gone. I received 1 phone call about a “possible ferret sighting” yesterday evening. So, that information was 12 hours old. Some guys thought they spotted a ferret running along a row of bushes. I checked it out…no Zoey.

I then posted about 300 signs within the neighboring blocks of these bushes and have the entire neighborhood looking out for her. But with no leads, I’m losing hope . I did cross paths with some really energetic 10 year old girls named Alissa and Olivia. They are peddling around the neighborhood, full of spunk and ambition to find Zoey. I really hope that they do. Besides the girls, I have met many other pet lovers who offered to leave out food and water overnight. I guess there really are some good souls left out there. These good souls make up for the guy that thought I was a door-to-door solicitor at first, started to close his door, then I showed him a flyer, mentioned that I lost a pet, and his reply was “Don’t care” as he slammed the door shut. If anyone needs a target for pre-Halloween Devil’s night antics, I know his address. Just Kidding. Sort of.

By nightfall, the owner of the property with the row of bushes called to tell me to come on to her property any time. So, tonight I left some food, water and Zoey’s traveling tote – just in case she is around. However, the same lady told me that cats frequently use the row of bushes for a crossing. So, I can only question the possible ferret sighting on that exact spot on the night prior.

This is all so gut wrenching…. maybe tomorrow will be better.

The flyers and door to door visits have not paid of yet. Zoey is still missing amongst horrible heat and rain conditions. I can only hope that somebody has picked her up.

I’m really holding out hope for her AVID microchip to prove itself.

St Clair Shores, MI

I am absolutely sick over this. Somehow, Zoey managed to get outdoors again. I have never had this happen in the past 20 years but it has happened twice now within a few weeks. She escaped sometime yesterday July 22. I have flyers up on nearby streets and have talked to all of the local vets, human society and animal shelter. sigh . She also now has a micro-chip which I hopes proves useful.

It has also been raining off and on for the past 24 hours; I hope she found a warm dry place.

On a related and extremely sad note, Dino is frantically searching the house for her. He is repetitively going in and out of every room, looking in and under objects. This is killing me. Dino and Zoey share a “ferret room”, which is a room just dedicated to them and lets them have more space to run around. Every night, they sleep together somewhere – usually under an entertainment center. When they were younger they were confined to a cage and slept on a hammock. The hammock has not been used for months … until last night. Dino climbed up into and slept alone. I believe he is going back to a spot that they used to hang out together.

I am so looking forward to a happy reunion.

A few times I have mentioned stories where a ferret escaped and was later found, computer scanned by a Veterinarian and returned to it’s owner. In a very upsetting event, this came close to happening to me. A big difference is that my ferrets were not micro-chipped.

I have owned ferrets for almost 20 years now and have never had one get away from me. Our house and rooms are ferret proofed and we open and close doors with an instinctive shuffle and usual glance downward before crossing through them. We have never had a problem, up until now….

I was reading an article today from The Chronicle in Queensland, Australia that left me a bit perplexed … and angry.

A couple was trying to catch a critter in their laundry room using a makeshift trap constructed of a bird cage and peanut butter. They caught the intruder but could not identify it so they called The Chronicle. I can only guess at that logic… Anyway, the beast was identified as a ferret. The home owners, Len and Yvonne McKewin, claim that during the chaotic and frantic capturing, Yvonne was bitten and subsequently rushed off to the doctor’s office for a dose of antibiotics. The ferret is then later described as being quite tame. Weird, right ? Perhaps the ferret felt threatened and did nip. Perhaps the story is embellished. It all seems sort of strange.

I stopped by a large chain store today to grab some ferret supplies and was saddened when I noticed their glass case of ferrets in disarray.

The furries did have food and water but the piles of waste were building up in the corners and in the litter tray. What really irked me was the lack (read zero) of hammocks or bedding. One of the young ferrets was actually sleeping in the litter tray on top of pellets amongst the waste.

I called attention to the situation to a non-concerned employee who said she will check into it. Hopefully this will be resolved when I stop in again this week.

During my last visit to the Veterinarian’s office (actually, Dino and Zoey’s visit not mine), the Vet tech explained that they are now recommending all ferrets be given Lupron shots annually as a preventative measure to stave off Adrenal type diseases. I recall hearing that this was being done as trial periods a while back but did not know that it was now recommended.

Last year, I lost my buddy Bandit to an Insulinoma related cancer and don’t care to repeat that process any time soon. Like most ferrets, Bandit was very active and full of personality. His last few weeks he rapidly lost weight, lost some hair, and was very lethargic. When he stopped eating, lost mobility and we realized that he was suffering, we took him to the Vet and helped him cross the Rainbow Bridge. That was one of my worst days ever.

If there is a chance that annual Lupron injections can help to prevent adrenal disease, I feel it would be well worth the costs. Proper diet of course, is of paramount importance. Since the recommended time for the Lupron administration is in the winter months, I have at least 7-8 months to decide.

I am curious to hear about any reader experiences regarding Lupron and their furries. Did your ferrets suffer from any side effects of the medication ? Have you noticed a difference in their health ? Since this practice seems to be only recently recommended, it may be too early to tell.

In any case, I’d love to hear about your thoughts or experiences. You can leave your comments below.

The latest missing ferret in Boulder, Colorado made it 17 miles from home – without the use of the US Postal Service this time.

Boots was discovered missing by his owner Josh Caldwall earlier this month. Because Josh lets his three ferrets run free in the house, it took a full day or so before he realized that one was missing. Anyone with ferrets knows that they can disappear for many hours, sleeping in the whatever coves and crevices that they can find.

Another missing ferret was happily reunited with it’s owner this week in Mornington Australia.

Jasmine Wigley was saddened when seven (holy cow) ferrets escaped her residence. Six of the ferrets were recovered quickly but one escapee remained at large for days.

Jasmine enlisted the help of friends and posted signs around her neighborhood. ““Lost ferret, Brutus, very friendly, will not bite,” the notice said.

Two days later, a local resident spotted Brutus by the roadway and returned the lucky fur ball to his home.

Jasmine is delighted to have her “adorable and lovable” pet home and posted new signs thanking the locals for their help.

Brutus is the one posing on the far left.

…another great ending.

Mark May 5th on your calendars and be sure to give well wishes to your UK Facebook and Twitter friends. The United States ferret owners already had their National Ferret Day on April 2nd. For those of you located in the UK, you get your chance to celebrate next week. There are reportedly almost 2 million ferrets belonging to residents of the UK.

To mark the occasion, the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh – Exotic Animal and Wildlife School is offering free advice, meetings and lectures to ferret owners.

Providing assistance for this event is the Ferret Education and Research Trust (FERT) . Ferret owners can participate in an evening meeting on May 5th or book a free ferret health check throughout the entire week.

For more information, call or click
• 0131 650 7650
• www.dickvetexotics.com
• www.ferrettrust.org